Carl Icahn issues statement

Activist investor Carl Icahn issued a statement Tuesday praising Chesapeake Energy Corp. CEO Aubrey McClendon, who will retire April 1 from the company he co-founded in 1998.

Aubrey K. McClendon

“Aubrey has every right to be proud of the company he has built, the world class team of people at Chesapeake and the collection of assets he has assembled, which in my opinion, are the best portfolio of energy assets in the country. While it is known that some of these assets will be sold by the company in due course, I do not believe that this will in any way effect the ultimate realization of Chesapeake's potential.

I am confident that history will prove that Aubrey has been correct about the value of natural gas in general and the value of Chesapeake in particular.”